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CARB backs off bid to get rid of black cars in California

 
14 5,354 views Mar 30, 2009

Cars like this Maserati Gran Turismo S could have been forced to head to the paint shop

Cars like this Maserati Gran Turismo S could have been forced to head to the paint shop

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California may have a reputation for being one of the more 'progressive' states in the union, however the latest idea to come from the ever wise California Air Resources Board (CARB) had even the most die-hard environmentalists scratching their heads. Today the board backed down from its proposal, however, releasing a statement that it is "by no means interested in banning or restricting car colors."

Last week, reports emerged that CARB, the body that can strike fear into the hearts of auto manufacturers at the mention of their name, had proposed to remove the color black from automotive palette. Of course, the state wasn't trying to get rid of one of the world's most popular car colors for aesthetic purposes - rather, its the environmental qualities of the color that the board was after.

We all know that white colored cars tend to stay cooler than black cars - this is because white can reflect heat, while black absorbs it. The reasoning behind the rumored proposal was that with lighter car colors, car interiors will be cooler and thus drivers will use the air-conditioning less, thereby reducing fuel consumption and saving the Earth from certain doom. Paint companies derided the no-black-cars idea as nonsense, saying that CARB was trying to put a simple theory into a difficult application.

The idea was a novel one, which CARB has apparently borrowed from Californian legislation aimed towards structural buildings. Where in buildings having reflective glass and paint colors can reduce energy usage, paint suppliers are claiming that the same idea doesn't quite carry over to the automotive industry, and that the environmental benefits may well be offset by the toxic heavy metals used in reflective paints that are difficult to recycle. Still, the energy savings issue remains.

Now that the black color issue is off the table, mandatory use of reflective glass or reflective paint may still be alternative solutions, however. Public comment on the reflective glass rule is now open, and a final vote on the 'cool cars' initiative is expected sometime after the board's late June meeting.



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Comments (14)

  1. ma_Quantum avatar Quantum Posted: 3/26/2009 12:03pm PDT

    of course yhea of course.... WTF
     
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  2. ma_NoNameDenton avatar NoNameDenton Posted: 3/26/2009 12:08pm PDT

    Makes me happy I live in Texas
     
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  3. ma_The Mii avatar The Mii Posted: 3/26/2009 12:54pm PDT

    thats soooooo stupid, i live in tropical area where the temperature is around 30-35 degrees celcius. and i always turn on the air conditioning no matter in what colour of car im in.
     
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  4. ma_Mike avatar Mike Posted: 3/26/2009 2:37pm PDT

    Wow, so Californians really are that stupid. Where the hell do they get this crap from? Do they really think eliminating black paint will get people to turn off their A/C when the temps are 90 degrees and humid? The amount of gas saved would be negligible to nothing on a global scale.
     
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  5. ma_www.mywheelsonwalls.com avatar www.mywheelsonwalls.com Posted: 3/26/2009 3:08pm PDT

    My next car will now be black!!!!
     
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  6. ma_gus avatar Gus Chyba Posted: 3/26/2009 5:45pm PDT

    Mike, don't throw us all in the dumpster just because a few hair-brained loonies live here. All states have their share of nutters...
    And by the way, it's never 90 and humid anywhere here, maybe 90, but not humid.
    And the vast majority of the time the weather is absolutely perfect, which is more than I can say for most other states, if you want to get picky...

    Maybe they should ban cars anywhere that the weather regularly goes above 90?
     
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  7. ma_SuperSkyline89 avatar SuperSkyline89 Posted: 3/27/2009 7:20am PDT

    I didn't even know that it was possible for a human to come up with such a stupid idea.
     
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  8. ma_Big Al avatar Big Al Posted: 3/27/2009 9:37am PDT

    Just further proof that California is America's mental asylum. We oughtta just let them secede. A third world country run by a bunch of liberal retards.
     
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  9. ma_Tall Paul avatar Tall Paul Posted: 3/27/2009 9:54am PDT

    Another example of impression being more important than reality.

    CARB does no research, yet contends they know how to fix something because it "sounds" good.

    Remember when asked, "what do you think should be done to reduce rollover deaths in vehicles", Nancy Pelosi said she thinks more metal ought to be put in the roofs.

    Remember when Claybrook forced airbags into cars when the auto cos. said not so fast, we need to study them further. Those first few years airbags killed more children than guns in schools ever did.
     
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  10. ma_Devigny avatar Devigny Posted: 3/28/2009 10:58pm PDT

    oh yeah global warming is caused by black car
    ...
     
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  11. ma_Aiman avatar Aiman Posted: 3/29/2009 4:18am PDT

    What next? Ban fat drivers coz they need air conditioning more than thin drivers?
     
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  12. ma_Roy avatar Roy Posted: 3/30/2009 10:26am PDT

    California has hit the nail on the head! I have a modest proposal to their scheme, though:
    First, we should ban all black coloured cars that will absorb heat and require more air conditioning.
    However, we should also ban light coloured cars because these lure insects to their deaths, preventing polination in a state where the economy depends on it.
    Then we should ban wheels that are inflated with air, because they can be under-inflated leading to terrible fuel economy. Solid rubber tires are the way to go.
    Next we should ban large gasoline engines, which use a tremendous amount of fuel and spout ludicrous amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
    Finally, we should dispense with safety devices of any sort. After all, if cars were less safe to drive, people would go slower, resulting in fewer fatalities AND less gasoline being burned.

    In short, Henry Ford's model T will be re-born as the perfect example of a car for CARB. You'll even be able to get it in any colour you like, except black of course... or anything actually.
     
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  13. ma_I h8 China avatar I h8 China Posted: 3/30/2009 3:07pm PDT

    Dark colours just don't make sense in a hot, sunny climate. Banning them is perhaps going too far though I think this proposal is a much better idea than stupid things like speed humps - which cause more pollution by people slowing down and then speeding up again - which some people even on this site support.
     
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  14. By  buy r4i Posted: 1/20/2010 2:28am PST

    Awesome! They’re requiring darker window tint! In my state (Utah), window tint is strictly limited to a very, very light tint. Now I can claim justification. I’m saving the environment.
     
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